1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sewing machine control system capable of controlling a plurality of sewing machines and including a display device for displaying information relating to control of the sewing machines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, sewing machines such as embroidery sewing machines can be connected to a personal computer so that sewing operations of the sewing machines can be controlled by the personal computer. For example, signals outputted from the personal computer can be transmitted to the plurality of sewing machines through a multiplexer so that the sewing machines can be individually controlled using time sharing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,896 describes a system for embroidery machines wherein a plurality of sewing machines are connected to a single personal computer having a display. With this device, first a user inputs a number and the screen of the display is divided accordingly. For example, if the user inputs the number "4", the screen is divided into four different subdisplays. Next, the user inputs designated numbers of embroidery patterns he or she would like to sew, whereupon the selected embroidery patterns are displayed, each in one of the different subdisplays. The user then designates the embroidery pattern he or she wishes to have sewn by which sewing machine. As a result, at the bottom of the screen, an additional small subscreen is displayed showing the designated number of each embroidery pattern in correspondence with a number of the sewing machine presently sewing the embroidery pattern.
With such a conventional system, after the user turns off the power source of a sewing machine, or otherwise puts the sewing machine into an inoperable condition, he or she then stops the corresponding control program by performing a predetermined operation at the personal computer. On the other hand, after the user turns the power of the sewing machine on, or otherwise puts the sewing machine into an operable condition, he or she then starts the corresponding control program by performing another predetermined operation at the personal computer.